1 person missing hours after boat overturns near Salisbury

SALISBURY, Mass. — One person is still missing several hours after a boat overturned off the coast of Salisbury Beach Tuesday evening.

The boat was about 150 yards from shore when it capsized, knocking the two occupants into the water around 5:40 p.m.

One man saw them struggling with the waves and current through his binoculars couldn’t believe what he was witnessing.

“It was already flipped over two guys were on top I couldn’t believe what I was looking at, nobody around I called 911,” Jeff told Boston 25 News.

Jeff called 911 himself, knowing that every second mattered with the water temperature around 51 degrees.

“They’re going out to have a good time and fish and unfortunately they didn’t judge the waters really good,” Jennifer Stafford, an on-looker to the rescue, said.

One man was able to ride the overturned boat to shore, where he was helped by officials and taken into an ambulance with hypothermia.

“The water is freezing cold, it’s bad enough to be here out of the water,” Corey Caulbe said after seeing the man get to shore. “He looked like he was exhausted he had to stop a few times.”

The Coast Guard arrived to help the second man, but relentless waves knocked him off the rescue boat and back into the strong current.

Police said the two men launched the boat from Newburyport and were fishing. The boat flipped near the mouth of the Merrimack River, which authorities say can be a dangerous spot.

Cox Media Group